A serious incident has brought renewed attention to the risks of uncontrolled use of artificial intelligence in health-related matters. A 78-year-old American man lost his life to chronic lymphocytic leukemia after refusing the treatment recommended by doctors for months, convinced by information obtained through AI.
The case was made public by his son, Ben Riley, who explained that his father had self-diagnosed after using the platform "Perplexity." According to him, his father was convinced he was suffering from a very rare condition known as Richter's transformation and that cancer treatments would worsen his situation.
Although his oncologist had repeatedly advised him to start therapy to slow the progression of the disease, the patient refused. Meanwhile, medical tests had clearly ruled out the rare diagnosis he believed he had.
His condition gradually deteriorated until the symptoms became severe and unbearable. Only in very advanced stages did he agree to begin treatment, but by then his body was too weakened to withstand it.
According to his son's account, the responses obtained from the AI contained references that appeared scientific but in reality had inaccuracies and misinterpretations. Even experts contacted later confirmed that the information was unreliable.
The case has reignited the debate over the use of tools like ChatGPT and other similar platforms for health-related issues. Experts warn that blind reliance on AI, replacing consultations with real doctors, can have fatal consequences.
Despite the pain, Ben Riley has chosen to share the story to raise awareness about the limitations of artificial intelligence. He emphasizes that AI should not be seen as a replacement for doctors, especially when it comes to life-or-death decisions.